1 - Electric guitar coming in adds a lot. Love the core of acoustic guitar and piano. STEEL GUITAR SOLO. Sounds like folksy Elton John. 2 - Love this more laid back and bluesy turn. OO. Drums and electric guitar coming in is super cool. Strings in background add a lot of texture. Love how she lays the groove back down after the up section. Delivery reminds me of Joni Mitchell. 3 - GROOVY. FUNKY. Maintains that bluesy feel. Weird upper harmonies super cool. 4 - LOVE this slowdown. Arpeggiations on guitar super cool and are slightly off balance throughout song. Love how strings and drums layer in with low voice. SAX SOLO. This song is awesome. 5 - Now THIS is super Joni Mitchell. Cool rock ballad. Little acoustic flurries super cool with electric riffs underneath. Queen loves strings and they do her well. You could make a very cool sample from this hook. 6 - Great transition to something more rhythmic. Almost jazzy intro, still very blues-centered. YES BITCH. Jam vibes. Very jazzy guitar feature into piano feature, playing with left and right speakers builds into another verse. 7 - Catchy!! Love the main riff. Love her vocals. Love the hook. More vocal harmony stuff in this song. Rock vibes with this one. 8 - Gentler yet upbeat folksy ballad. Very happy sounding and nice. Guitar parts are very cool too. 9 - Awesome opening acoustic guitar intro. Can confidently say this song rocks. Sexy vocals, driving rhythm. The acoustic solo in the middle is dope as well, love how everything else drops out for so long. 10 - “You don’t leave my down-hearted, but I'm sorry you had to go, because we had fun while it lasted.” Reflective and somber blues closing, powerful vocal performance. LOVE the upbeat switch at the end, mirrors the uplifting disappointment of the lyrics. Love this for a closing track, really sums up the album musically and thematically. Summary - Great album. I thought the instrumentation was awesome. That combined with the vocal talent of Joan Armatrading allow for a full exploration of the bluesy, jazzy, singer-songwriter sound she creates. You can blast most of this album and dance your ass off, but it also rewards a more focused listening.
Interesting instrumentation choices, the songs feel varied throughout. All very danceable, every song has a distinct driving feel to it. Memorable guitar riffs and hooks. Some of the vocal harmony moments were cool, some felt sort of forced. Album got stronger from “Just What I Needed” and beyond. First two tracks just felt like anything you could hear on classic rock radio, but the third track is iconic, and after that it feels like more risks are being taken. Incredible flow throughout the album. Last two tracks are a cool note to go out on. Still upbeat, but weirder and almost haunting/mysterious at times. Every song could be a hit.
1 - Electric guitar coming in adds a lot. Love the core of acoustic guitar and piano. STEEL GUITAR SOLO. Sounds like folksy Elton John. 2 - Love this more laid back and bluesy turn. OO. Drums and electric guitar coming in is super cool. Strings in background add a lot of texture. Love how she lays the groove back down after the up section. Delivery reminds me of Joni Mitchell. 3 - GROOVY. FUNKY. Maintains that bluesy feel. Weird upper harmonies super cool. 4 - LOVE this slowdown. Arpeggiations on guitar super cool and are slightly off balance throughout song. Love how strings and drums layer in with low voice. SAX SOLO. This song is awesome. 5 - Now THIS is super Joni Mitchell. Cool rock ballad. Little acoustic flurries super cool with electric riffs underneath. Queen loves strings and they do her well. You could make a very cool sample from this hook. 6 - Great transition to something more rhythmic. Almost jazzy intro, still very blues-centered. YES BITCH. Jam vibes. Very jazzy guitar feature into piano feature, playing with left and right speakers builds into another verse. 7 - Catchy!! Love the main riff. Love her vocals. Love the hook. More vocal harmony stuff in this song. Rock vibes with this one. 8 - Gentler yet upbeat folksy ballad. Very happy sounding and nice. Guitar parts are very cool too. 9 - Awesome opening acoustic guitar intro. Can confidently say this song rocks. Sexy vocals, driving rhythm. The acoustic solo in the middle is dope as well, love how everything else drops out for so long. 10 - “You don’t leave my down-hearted, but I'm sorry you had to go, because we had fun while it lasted.” Reflective and somber blues closing, powerful vocal performance. LOVE the upbeat switch at the end, mirrors the uplifting disappointment of the lyrics. Love this for a closing track, really sums up the album musically and thematically. Summary - Great album. I thought the instrumentation was awesome. That combined with the vocal talent of Joan Armatrading allow for a full exploration of the bluesy, jazzy, singer-songwriter sound she creates. You can blast most of this album and dance your ass off, but it also rewards a more focused listening.
Pleasantly surprised by this album. Sort of thought they were all my girl type music (not that thats bad, i just dont need a whole album of it). but this album was funky and cool
Gorgeous jazz album. Loved hearing rap samples lol. You can hear the influence on r&b and pop ballads moving forward.